Chickens and eggs

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

As we wrestle with the early stages of this ministry, we face an immediate dilemma: which comes first? Not literally chickens and eggs, of course. But as a ministry, who do we seek out first? Churches to partner with, or families that need assistance?

On the one hand, seeking out a church but having no one to whom to connect that church is a bit like selling snake oil. We have a cure, but no patient to whom to administer it.

On the other hand, if we find a family, a temporary widow and the orphans in her care, who are waiting to reunite with their loved one, to whom will we turn for assistance? How do we connect them with a local church if we haven’t established a relationship with them in advance?

Our inclination is to find the families first, then connect them to churches. After all, what church could refuse the outreach opportunity presented by such a clear need with a ready solution? That said, I’m not opposed to finding churches first, as it’s entirely possible (statistically probable, even) that most churches already have such families within their congregation. These churches probably don’t even know it, because these temporary widows and orphans are unlikely to self-identify. Pam has told me numerous times that if she had seen an ad in a church bulletin or website for a support group (or any other ministry for that matter) for the wives or families of the incarcerated, she would have jumped at the opportunity. If only we could get churches to reimagine their prison ministries…

In truth, the answer lies in our Creator.. How does he want us to start? Where does he want us to begin?

Maybe this isn’t an either/or, but a both/and. Not churches or families, but churches and families.

Maybe neither comes before the other?

Maybe chickens and eggs?